Buccaneers’ Mike Williams could lose starting job to Preston Parker

Mike Williams had an incredibly impressive rookie year in 2010, as a mere 4th round rookie, catching 65 passes for 964 yards and 11 touchdowns, but struggled last year, catching 65 passes for 771 yards and 3 touchdowns. He was out of shape for most of, if not all of the season, not an uncommon thing for a Buccaneer last year as Head Coach Raheem Morris completely lost the locker room. Morris is now gone, but the Buccaneers brought in another receiver, Vincent Jackson, moving Mike Williams to 2nd on the depth chart, where he’s a better fit. However, Williams might not be done being demoted on the depth chart.

According to ESPN.com’s Pat Yasinskas, Mike Williams could lose his starting job to slot receiver Preston Parker. Parker, who caught 40 passes for 554 yards and 3 touchdowns last season, is having a great offseason and earned the praise of quarterback Josh Freeman, while Williams is reportedly in the new coaching staff’s doghouse. If Parker does leapfrog Williams on the depth chart, he’d play outside opposite Jackson in 2-wide receiver sets and move inside on 3-wide receiver sets, with Williams playing outside. There’s definitely some fantasy football upside with Parker late. At the very least, he should exceed his 2011 production with Kellen Winslow gone and Josh Freeman likely to bounce back.